by Janie Crouch
Keira rubbed her forearms. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that the baby and I would be holding you back from the future you want. Politics, like your father.”
Roman had no doubt she’d spoken with his mother now. He’d heard the “politics like your father” speech from Maureen so many times he knew it by heart.
“Do I get a say in all this? Do I get a say in what my future will hold? Or does my mother get to decide for me?”
Keira stopped, studying him. Now he was finally reaching her. Keira had fought for her independence and didn’t like the thought of anyone making decisions for someone else.
She looked at him fully for the first time, her big brown eyes intense. “Of course you do. But I just don’t want to trap you, to keep you from the future you might not want right now, but will in the future.”
He started to argue again, but she held out her hand so she could continue. “I’m never going to get married, Roman. I just want to make sure you understand. I cannot put myself through that again.”
He ignored the tightness in his chest. “I know you feel that way right now, but maybe your views will change.”
“Do you know what I picture when I think of marriage? My jaw being broken in two places, and the two cracked ribs that made me feel like I couldn’t breathe for over a month and a half. I can literally feel those pains when I think of intertwining my life in a permanent fashion with someone else’s.”
Roman felt like he’d been punched in the gut, but he didn’t let it show. “Fine, then we won’t get married. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be a permanent part of your and the baby’s life.”
“Don’t you see? By doing that you would ruin any chance you have of ever running for political office.”
“Fine. Then I won’t ever run for political office. That was my mother’s dream, not mine.”
The sadness in Keira’s eyes clutched at his heart. “Maybe not your dream, but you knew it was part of your destiny.”
Roman scrubbed a hand over his face. He couldn’t argue with that, not without lying. That was exactly how he thought of it—that running for office one day would be a part of his destiny. But looking at Keira now, he realized that wasn’t true anymore.
“Maybe at one time.” He took a step closer to her. “Especially when my father was alive. But I’ve come to realize what my mother never has, and that is that my father was about doing good, not about being a politician. He wanted to help people.”
“You want to help people, too. I know it.”
“Yes, but running for office isn’t the only way to do that. As a matter fact, I’m not sure it’s even the best way to do that. Maybe staying in Omega Sector is the best way. Maybe helping you run the shelter is the best way.”
He took the final couple of steps between them and pulled her into his arms, desperately relieved when she didn’t pull away.
“There’s a lot of unknowns out there right now. Let’s just take it one day at a time.”
“Okay,” she murmured against his chest.
Roman just held her. After everything that had happened today, he needed to be near her, to hold her against him.
They didn’t say anything else for a long time. Roman realized he may have squeaked through this battle, but he was a long way from winning the war.
Chapter Twenty
“Um, Keira, I’m so sorry, but I just realized that the lady with the perfume that made you sick has an appointment ten minutes from now. So you might want to eat some crackers or something.” Annabel bit her lip as she delivered the news, obviously confused.
After the terrible job Keira had done on Maureen’s hair last week, she didn’t blame Annabel for being confused about why the woman would ever come in again.
But Keira knew.
She grimaced. Everything had been going well between her and Roman for the last few days. Neither of them had brought up the future. There was enough to worry about now. Especially given that Roman had almost been killed again by an explosion Freihof set up.
And Roman had been right about the future, anyway. No one could choose his destiny except him. And in this day and age, if he wanted to go into politics despite not having a wife by his side, he certainly should be allowed to do that. Or, as he’d said, there were a lot of other ways to make a difference that didn’t involve politics at all.
And Keira could admit she liked having him here. In her bed. Cracking jokes with her at breakfast.
“When did Maureen make this appointment?” Keira asked.
“She just called this morning. About an hour and a half ago. She’s lucky we had a spot.”
So Maureen had waited until Roman had been called back to Omega before making an appointment. Interesting. Keira wondered if the other woman had someone watching the salon all the time or if she just had someone watching Roman.
At least today Keira wasn’t so flustered and rushed. She wouldn’t let Maureen pick a fight. Wouldn’t let the other woman upset her.
Keira would style the woman’s hair better than it had ever been styled before and then tell whoever was working reservations from now on not to allow her to make an appointment.
“She actually made an appointment for two people,” Annabel continued.
Great. Probably Angela, Roman’s sister.
No matter what, Keira would not get into a battle with Maureen Donovan.
But when Maureen walked through the door a few minutes later, Keira realized she’d underestimated the woman as an opponent.
Maureen hadn’t brought her daughter with her for the other appointment. She had brought Bridgette Cunningham.
Keira’s ex-mother-in-law.
Shock flooded Keira’s system. “Bridgette?” She hadn’t seen the woman since her divorce hearing, where she’d finally rid herself of Jonathan.
“That’s right,” Maureen said, her tone too bright. “I ran into my friend Bridgette while I was in Denver yesterday. Once I realized the connection between you two, I knew I had to invite her here for a sort of reunion.”
Keira’s eyes flew rapidly to the door as she tried to get her panicked breathing under control. “Jonathan?” Had Bridgette brought her son with her?
Bridgette shook her head. “No. Jonathan’s not here. His father and I haven’t seen him in over a year.”
That made Keira feel marginally better. At least Jonathan wasn’t about to burst through the door at any moment.
Maureen, completely oblivious to the tense undertones of the conversation between Keira and Bridgette, no doubt because it didn’t serve her purposes, continued her monologue.
“When I found out you had been married before, I have to admit I wasn’t surprised.” Maureen didn’t even stop to let the insult sink in before continuing. “But then I found out you were married to a Cunningham. A small world, isn’t it?”
And by “small world” Keira assumed Maureen meant that Keira had already tried to scam her way into a rich family once and hadn’t succeeded. She’d brought Bridgette here as proof that Maureen was onto Keira’s schemes.
Maureen had no idea what lengths Keira had gone to to get away from this family.
“Yes, small world,” Bridgette muttered.
Keira hadn’t had a lot of contact with Jonathan’s mother during her marriage. At least not during the abusive part. It had been his father who had always threatened her in the hospital. But Keira knew Bridgette had also known what was going on.
“Oh...” Maureen drew out the word. “I guess I didn’t think this through. Didn’t think that this might be awkward for both of you.”
Keira knew the exact opposite to be true. Maureen had brought Bridgette here with the express intent of making things uncomfortable, or worse.
“Mother? What are you doing here?”
Keira spun toward the door at the sound of Roman�
�s voice.
Maureen obviously wasn’t expecting her son, but she recovered quickly. “Roman, darling.” She crossed the few feet to him and kissed him on the cheek. “I thought you had gone into the office.”
Roman’s eyebrow rose. “And how would you know that, Mother?”
Maureen ignored the question completely. “I’m here to get my hair styled. And I brought my friend Bridgette Cunningham. You know the Cunninghams of Denver, don’t you, darling?”
“I know of them.” Roman turned to Bridgette. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Cunningham.”
Keira glanced at Maureen as Roman shook the hand of her ex-mother-in-law. Triumph was evident in the older woman’s eyes.
“It seems that our Keira and Bridgette have a tie to each other that I’ve just become aware of.”
Roman looked at his mother. “Is that so? And what is that?”
“Keira used to be married to Bridgette’s son, Jonathan.”
Keira could actually see rage fill Roman as he put together these final pieces of the story of her past. She had told him about her marriage, and now he had a name to put with the villain. His eyes turned icy as he looked back at Bridgette.
Maureen misunderstood it all. “I see you’re as surprised as I was to find out that Keira was married before,” she said. “It’s a shocking thing, I know, to think you know someone so well, only to find out you don’t really know them at all.”
Roman ignored his mother completely. When he slipped an arm around Keira and pulled her protectively to his side, Maureen’s eyes narrowed. She became aware that his anger was directed at Bridgette, not Keira.
“Roman, certainly you don’t think that Bridgette would lie about something like this? Ask Keira yourself if you don’t believe she was married before.”
“I knew Keira was married before, Mother. What I didn’t know was to whom.” He hadn’t known because Keira had asked him to leave the past behind them, and Keira appreciated that he’d done so.
Realizing her mistake, Maureen changed the track of her argument instantly. “Well, good. I’m glad Keira told you. But you have to admit it’s a very odd coincidence that Keira has attached herself to another wealthy family, after a marriage to the son of the first wealthy family didn’t work out.”
If Maureen had said Keira was a scheming, money-hungry bitch her intent couldn’t have been more plain.
“I know exactly why Keira got a divorce from Jonathan Cunningham.” Roman’s eyes never left Bridgette’s. The older woman flinched.
“It’s time for you to leave,” he said to her.
“You’re being terribly rude, Roman,” Maureen protested. “I brought Bridgette here so that you could see the truth about Keira. Not so that you could be rude to one of my friends.”
“If the Cunninghams are your friends, Mother, then I can honestly say that I don’t know if I can be a part of our family anymore.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the fact that you have no idea what the Cunninghams are evidently capable of.” He gestured toward Bridgette with the arm that wasn’t wrapped around Keira, then turned to the woman again. “Like I said, it is time for you to leave. Right now.”
Maureen, becoming aware she was losing a much bigger battle, remained quiet.
Bridgette just nodded. She didn’t try to defend herself or her family in any way. “I will leave. I will never come back to this place or bother Keira again. But can I have just one moment with her alone?”
Keira could feel Roman tense even more. She reached over and touched his arm. It was nice having someone fight for her for a change, but she was strong enough to handle this.
“It’s okay,” she whispered.
“You don’t have to talk to her if you don’t want to.” He pulled her closer and kissed her temple as he muttered the words.
“I’ll be all right.” Just knowing he was nearby helped. “I’ll give her three minutes.”
“Does someone want to tell me what in the world is going on here?” Maureen’s voice seemed like a loud shriek after the quietness of everyone else’s words.
“You’re going outside with me, Mother.” He let go of Keira and walked over and took his mother’s arm. “You and I have a lot to talk about, like how you’re never going to set foot in this salon again, either.”
Maureen sputtered about protecting the family and not tainting the Weber name as Roman dragged her out the door. He turned just before it closed behind them, and looked from Keira to Bridgette.
“Three minutes. Not one second more. I work for one of the most prestigious law enforcement agencies in the country. For whatever reason, Keira protected your son from prosecution for years. Trust me when I say I do not have that same compulsion.”
Bridgette became even paler at Roman’s words.
“Like I told Keira, my husband and I haven’t seen Jonathan in over a year.”
Roman nodded sharply, then walked out the door with Maureen. Annabel had been watching the entire scene with interest. Keira gave her friend a nod and she left the reception area, leaving Keira and Bridgette alone.
Keira crossed her arms over her chest as she looked at Bridgette. “You have three minutes.”
“I just want you to know that I never really understood what Jonathan did to you. I knew he had a temper, that he had struck women in the past, but I didn’t know he was so violent.”
Keira brought her hand up to her eyes and rubbed them wearily. “You’ll have to excuse me if I find that hard to believe, or at the very least, completely unacceptable to be so oblivious.”
Bridgette nodded. “I don’t blame you for feeling that way. It was unacceptable. Everything that happened to you was completely unacceptable.”
“Your husband knew about it, even if you didn’t. He knew about it from the very first time Jonathan put me in the hospital, if not much earlier.”
If possible, Bridgette’s face became even paler. “No. You must be mistaken.”
Keira could feel fury pooling in her. “Your husband came to me while I lay in the hospital and told me how he would make sure the doctors’ statements were changed and that I would look like the villain—unstable, alcoholic—if I tried to bring charges against Jonathan.”
Bridgette didn’t try to deny it, just looked at Keira with devastation in her eyes. “I didn’t know he told you that. I knew my husband wanted to protect Jonathan. He’s our only child.”
Keira rolled her eyes. “Well, again, you’ll forgive me if that doesn’t quite make up for the fact that I lived for years in terror and pain before finally being able to buy my freedom with my own blood. All I ever wanted to do was get away from Jonathan once he started to hurt me. Your husband stopped me from doing that.”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the pain you suffered. I’m sorry that I was oblivious to it. At the time, I didn’t realize how mentally ill my son was. Is.” Bridgette took a step back. “Not that that changes what happened to you or makes it any more acceptable. And I’m sorry to hear that my husband was complicit in the abuse you suffered. It changes a lot of things for me.”
Keira almost felt bad for the woman. But the twenty-year-old inside her who had driven across three states with broken ribs and a fractured wrist because of what this woman’s son had done wouldn’t allow her to.
“I won’t come here again. I wouldn’t have come here at all if it wasn’t for Maureen and whatever sort of trouble she was trying to stir up.” Bridgette nodded as if gathering her strength. “If it helps, her plan backfired. I’m glad to see you with Roman, Keira. That man obviously loves you and is never going to let anyone hurt you again.”
With that, Bridgette turned and walked back out the door.
Chapter Twenty-One
Roman made sure to position himself so that he could see inside the salon as he spoke to his mo
m out in the parking lot.
“I don’t know what Keira has told you about her relationship with Jonathan, but I’ve known the Cunninghams for years and I am sure Keira must be mostly at fault for their breakup.”
Roman barely listened to his mother as he watched to make sure Bridgette wasn’t doing or saying anything to upset Keira.
“Mother, I hope to God you didn’t know what was happening in Jonathan and Keira’s marriage.”
Maureen gave an exasperated sigh. “Of course not. I hardly even know Jonathan. The only thing I remember was that the marriage was a bit of a scandal because the son refused to have a big wedding.”
Roman wondered if the abuse had begun even before the marriage had. Keira had been alone and unprotected, with no parents to give her advice, or for her to turn to if she was in trouble.
“But Roman, you have to admit it’s quite suspicious that Keira was married to Jonathan Cunningham and now is interested in you. She’s just using you, can’t you see that?”
All Roman could see was that Keira was listening to a woman who had begged for an audience, even though Keira didn’t owe her a thing. Owed her less than nothing.
“She’s not using me.”
“I know about the baby. If she’s really even pregnant.” Maureen began to pace back and forth. “Don’t think that I’m not going to demand a paternity test.”
Roman whipped his head around to stare at his mother. “You will do no such thing.”
She was obviously flustered by his tone. He couldn’t blame her. He’d probably never spoken that way to her in his entire life. He’d coddled his mother and protected her after his father’s death. Allowed her to feel like she had some control over his life and plans in order to give her something to live for. But she didn’t need that anymore and it was time Maureen realized exactly where she stood.
Roman loved his mother, but there was no way in hell he was going to allow her to damage his relationship with Keira.
“Roman, surely you can see she is trying to trap you. She undoubtedly did it with Jonathan Cunningham. That didn’t work out the way she planned, and now she’s moved on to you.”
